2026 AIP Research Agenda

The 2026 AIP Research Agenda outlines key areas where AIP will focus its research efforts to empower positive change in the physical sciences. Developed in partnership with leaders across AIP’s Federation, these projects address urgent challenges in science policy, workforce development, professional identity, and research infrastructure.

Our research team will be focusing on the following five topics in 2026.

1. Impacts of Federal Policy & Funding Shifts on the Physical Sciences Enterprise

Since January 2025, President Trump’s Administration has made—and continues to make—rapid and consequential policy and budget changes that impact the physical sciences enterprise in the United States. Throughout 2026, AIP’s research team will work to document and communicate the ongoing effects of these policy changes. Through data collection, analysis, and dissemination activities, this initiative will provide in-depth information to support action across physical science communities to respond to these changes.

2. A Half Century of Efforts to Broaden Participation in the Physical Sciences

Efforts to broaden participation in the physical sciences began to cohere in the 1970s. While there have been notable successes, progress has remained slow and uneven. AIP will develop a thorough, consolidated account of these efforts and the lessons learned from them, and also create well-collated resources spotlighting people from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences within the profession. Although this history has been documented in profiles, interviews, studies, and reports, there has been little synthesis across these sources. This project will bridge that gap—developing an invaluable resource to inform and strengthen future efforts to broaden participation in the physical sciences.

3. Enduring Access to Digital Records of Scientific Societies

Organizational records of scientific societies are vital for understanding the history and future of the physical sciences enterprise. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated a multi-decade shift to digital records, but records practices and policies have not kept pace with this transformation. Both societies and archives are ill-equipped to manage the volume, complexity, and fragility of electronic records. With its dual role as the leading repository for scientific society records and as an innovator in archival methods, AIP’s Niels Bohr Library and Archives is uniquely positioned to help the scientific community address this issue. Beginning with AIP’s Member Societies and Affiliates, AIP will investigate current practices and identify the infrastructure, partnerships, and strategies needed to ensure that digital records of scientific societies are collected, preserved, and available for future generations.

4. International Collaboration and Global Talent in the U.S. Physical Sciences Enterprise

For more than half a century, the United States has been a global destination for scientific talent. Immigrant scientists and international collaborations play essential roles in advancing the U.S physical sciences enterprise. Recent policy shifts on immigration and visa restrictions are disrupting this long-standing strength. AIP will document and celebrate the contributions of immigrants to the U.S. physical sciences enterprise, assess how recent policy changes are impacting international engagement, and identify strategies to ensure that the U.S. remains a welcoming, collaborative, and competitive force in global science.

5. Career & Identity Insights for Scientific Societies in a Time of Change

Since its founding, AIP’s Federation has reflected a broad, interdisciplinary physical sciences community—spanning physicists, engineers, astronomers, acousticians, meteorologists, and more. As federal policy, funding shifts, and breakthroughs at the transfrontiers of science are reshaping the professional landscape, several of AIP’s Member Societies have requested support from AIP to survey their members to understand the evolving needs, employment situations, and identities of their increasingly interdisciplinary communities. Through coordinated membership surveys, AIP will deliver society-specific reports as well as a federation-wide analysis, identifying surfacing key member needs, offering insight into how the physical sciences enterprise is changing—and what support structures are needed to help it thrive in a rapidly shifting environment.

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